Regret and what it gives us.

I was Instagram stalking this morning. (Don't lie, you know you do it too.) I saw the Alive & Olivia cup from Christmas, you know the one, with the tutu.  And, I immediately filled with regret because I didn't buy it.  I know a silly thing to regret but I did, and it started my thinking.

I hate when people say they have no regrets.  

Everyone regrets something.  No matter if it's insignificant (like me and the cup) or serious (like me and my brother) everyone feels regret about something.  And, I can't stand it when someone says they don't regret anything.

We should feel regret, it teaches us lessons.  I regret not getting the mug from Starbucks, well from this regret, next time I will get the mug.  I regret not spending time with my brother, well I won't make the same mistake with my other brother.  Regret helps us make better future decisions so how can you have no regrets?

I used to say that.  I have no regrets. (I know I'm using that word a lot.) But, because I didn't regret everything I never learned from my mistakes or my choices.

Now, I understand that yes, we can feel no regret for some of our decisions, like I don't regret choosing Western Carolina for college.  I don't regret going home every weekend freshman year.  But, it's the bad decisions we make which we feel regret that teaches us the lessons we need for life.  Those are the ones I'm talking about.

Don't say you have no regrets. (I've used the word so many times I'm not sure how to use it anymore) Feel regretfull after a bad decision, but learn from the regret.

Okay, soapbox over.